Ribbon-clasp



(No Model.)

E. L. TIEDE.

RIBBON CLASP.

No. 553,084. Patented Jan. 1:4", 1896.

wihaeowo J I UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

EMIL L. TIEDE, OF BEI.-l\.[OND, IOIVA.

RlBBON-CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,084, dated January14, 1896. Application filed October 20, 1894. $erial No 526,600 (Nomodel.)

To osZZ ZUh-O'H'b it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMIL Ii. TIE'DE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Belmond, in the county of W'right and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbon-Clasps; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings,'

and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

lily invention relates to ribbon-clasps and the method of applying thesame, and has for its object to overcome certain defects and objectionsin the clasp invented and patented by me August 25, 1891, No. 458,289;and it consists in certain improvements in construction, as will behereinafter more particularly set forth. In my former clasp the upper orouter clamping-bar was secured in its operative position by having oneend secured under a hook; but I have found that this construction wasobjectionable for the reason that the end of the bar had to be so longto prevent its becoming disengaged from the hook that it projectedbeyond the end of the roll of ribbon, and thereby was in a position tocatch upon the exposed ribbons of other rolls when placed in a box ordrawer containing an assortment of ribbons, and thereby pick or roughenthe surface of the ribbon as to detract from its ap pearance. In mypresent invention this objection is wholly avoided by making the claspnormally continuous or non-separable, as by forming the clamp withoutany pointed ends or by inclosing them within a sheath or roller; butthis change necessitates an entirely different manner of applying theclasp to the roll, and consequently renders the device more desirable,as it is not so liable to become accidentally detached from the roll aswhere the free end of one of the clamping-bars was secured by passing itunder a hook.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of my application,and inwhich the same reference-numerals indicate corresponding parts in eachof the views where they occur, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myclasp. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing it applied to a roll of ribbon.Fig. 3 is a view showing the manner of applying it to the roll, and Fig.el shows the clasp formed from a single continuous piece of material.Figs. 5 and 6 are different forms of the clasp.

In carrying out my invention I take a piece of spring-wire or othersuitable material and form a C-shaped loop 1 near each end with theportion 2 of the wire beyond the loop remaining straight or without ahook. The loops are then bent at right angles to the main portion 3 ofthe clasp and to the ends, so that they will lie parallel with eachother and thereby be adapted to pass down over the ends of the roll ofribbon 4t and hold it in position. Between the bend at the ends of thewire and the ends of the loops a short straight piece of wire 5 extendssubstantially radially from the ends of the loops, behind which the mainportion of the clasp is thrown when in position upon the roll of ribbon.The ends of the wire are now slipped into the ends of a hollow piece ofglass 6, or other suitable material, where they remain permanently, andthe clasp is complete and for all practical purposes is the same asthough it were formed from a continuous or unbroken piece of material,as the ends of the wire are never to be removed from the ends of thetube.

In applying the clasp to a roll of ribbon it is taken in the right handwith the thumb and one linger on the outside of the loops and the rollof ribbon in the other, the end of the ribbon being slightly unwound.The end of the ribbon is then passed between the two clamping-bars untilthe end can be passed the second time between the bars. The loops of theclasp are then swung up over to the left, so as to cause the upper rollor clamping-bar to bear against the fingers of the left hand, which restupon the roll of ribbon. Then force the loops on over in the samedirection until the lower bar has been forced in under the upper bar andthe free ends of the loops have been caught between the outer ends ofthe loops and the ends of the ribbon-roll. This will cause the end ofeach loop to cross the other end at the short straight piece of materialbetween the end of the loop and the end of the main portion, whereby itwill be impossible for it to turn back into its original positionwithout the application of more force than will everbe given to itaccidentally,

and it will also look the free ends of the upper bar within the tube andthereby prevent them becoming accidentally loosened.

If desired, the roller may be dispensed with and the ends of the upperbar be joined together, or the clasp might be made from a continuouspiece of material, as shown in Fig. l, 01' one of the bars may be bentor curved near the middle, as shown in Fig. 5, or crimped, as shown inFig. 6. In either construction, however, the clasp comprises twoC-shaped loops, the corresponding ends of which loops are joinedtogether or connected by clampingbars, one of which is shorter than theother and is joined to its respective ends of the loops by two shortstraight portions of material.

After the clasp has been constructed as above described and applied to aroll of ribbon, it is used in the same manner as is described for theuse of my former clasptliat is, the roll of ribbon is taken in one handand the'free end of ribbon in the other hand and pulled out in the samemanner as though there were no clasp upon the roll. Vhen it is desiredto reroll the ribbon or fasten the free end, the ribbon is wound uponthe roll in the ordinary manner and the clasp is forced around the rolluntil the end of the ribbon is reached, where it remains until it isdesired to again unwind the ribbon, when the above operation isrepeated. As the plain wire is passed between the coils of ribbon andthe pressure between the two bars is not direcrlv toward each other, thesurface of the ribbon is not compressed by the bars, even if the claspremains along time upon a roll without being moved. This is a Veryimportant matter with the more costly kinds of ribbon. Instead oi usingthe clasp upon ribbons it can also be used on braid or other materialwhich is usually kept in a roll.

Having described my invention, I claim A normally continuous ornon-separable ribbon clasp comprising two parallel substair tially Cshaped loops and two parallel bars joined to the ends thereof at rightangles therewith, one of the bars being shorter than the other one andcomprising a hollow roller. and the ends of the loops to which it isjoined. each being provided with a short radial portion and a shortstraight end, said end being bent at an angle to the radial portion and,lying parallel with the longer bar and inserted in the end of the rollerwhere it remains permanently, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EHIL L. TIEDE. \V itnesses D. E. PACKARD, F. M. HANSON.

